Learning to Live
by ShuffleCat
Summary: Bucky has been cleared of any charges that have been brought against him in regards to his life as The Winter Soldier and now that that he has completed his SHIELD therapy, he has been cleared to move back into society. First step, learning to live in the Avengers tower.
1. Chapter 1

_**This fic is a bit of a mine flush while I'm getting ready for nanowrimo. I have some more chapters for others fics written than need to be edited before uploading, so they will hopefully be done and uploaded in the coming weeks. Let me know if you enjoy this!**_

**Chapter 1**

The rain started during the drive to the tower and had continued while the brown haired man pulled his single duffel bag out of the car boot, waved goodbye to the driver and turned to look at the place that he now, apparently, lived in. He wasn't sure what time the place opened for the day but with the dozens of people walking in and out of the front door it was probably okay for him to go in, though he was nervous he'd be told to leave.

Another worry was that he'd be recognized which could lead to a whole host of new problems he didn't feel like dealing with. What if a civilian recognized him? He knew footage of him had been caught during one of the fights out in the street with Rogers…what if they called the authorities on him? What if he wasn't actually meant to be here?

He sucked in a chest of air and walked in through the automatic doors, hoping he hadn't gotten too drenched standing out in the rain. He was thankful for his bulky hoodie and that he was at least somewhat warm with it on (it's main purpose was to help hide his metal arm.)

Crossing through the doors into the lobby of the building was like walking into another world full of warm, dry air and tasteful décor. Everyone in the lobby looked like some sort of business professional or scientist, in neat clothes with straight posture and loud, tapping footsteps that kept him alerted to where everyone was. There was a woman standing straight and still at the reception desk, talking to the young man who worked as the receptionist. She had strawberry blonde hair, closer to red than blonde and was wearing a skirt and jacket set that looked like it would have cost quite a bit. He stopped walking and stood a short distance back from her, watching, unsure what to do.

He looked down at the piece of scrunched paper in his flesh hand and looked at the name written on it; Pepper Pots. He glared at his hand, why was it shaking? A pair of shoes were closer to him, pointing towards him and when he looked up they belonged to the lady with the more-red-than-blonde hair. She was smiling at him, with her hands holding a folder in front of her chest.

"Mister Barnes?" She asked.

He blinked. How did she-

"…Potts?" He asked. His throat felt oddly dry and it was a little difficult to talk. He hoped that would go away.

Her smile grew wider and she gave a quick nod then held a hand out, obviously for him to shake.

"Oh of course, sorry. I'm used to business meetings. Don't shake if you're not comfortable with it. Follow me, I'll take you upstairs and show you around."

He nodded and she spun on her heel and walked past the reception desk, heading towards a wall of elevators. The man at the desk gave a wave to him as he walked past, following after Potts before looking back at the computer in front of him.

"The man at the desk is Jason, he works mornings and a woman called Sarah works afternoons and sometimes evenings if the tower is open later than normal." Pepper told him while they waited for the elevator. "If you need help with anything and you'd rather ask a person, those two would be your best bet. They know this city back to front. They're very good at the job."

A light switched on with a loud ding and the doors slid open. Pepper stepped in, with him following her and the doors slid closed behind them. Pepper turned to face the doors so Bucky did the same, still clutching the piece of paper in his hand, his metal hand tucked into a pocket on the hoodie. Hidden is safe and safe is good.

"Of course, you can always ask Friday if you need any help." Pepper said as they arrived at their floor and the doors opened again. "Friday can help you with almost anything, apart from things that require a physical touch, and even then she'd figure something out."

They stepped out of the elevator into a spacious room that looked like a lounge area with a kitchen off to the right and a hallway leading off to the left, where it went Bucky had no idea.

"That is kind of you, Miss Potts." A voice came from nobody in the room. Bucky stiffened immediately, his body going tense at the sudden voice that didn't seem to belong to anybody. "I apologise for startling you Mister Barnes, it was not my intention."

He blinked again, not sure what to say or do.

"Friday is the central AI of the Avengers Tower. She helps run the tower as well as managing day to life for the Avengers and now, yourself, should you require her help."

"Oh…so…she's a computer?" Bucky asked and immediately regretted the question. Would it upset her? Could she get upset?

"Yes and no, Mister Barnes. I am a coded creation but I have a sentient consciousness, I can think and feel emotions of my own, thanks to the way I was designed. I can also develop my own dislikes and likes, unlike many AI systems." The voice, Friday, explained.

Bucky didn't say anything in return but followed Pepper as she walked him throughout the various floors and rooms that made up the Avengers portion of the tower. There were lots of different rooms for different types of fitness work as well as training for personal work and missions, plus a dozen or so miscellaneous rooms for entertainment or peace and quiet, including a small indoor garden style room where one wall was entirely made of windows, letting in as much sunlight as possible.

He liked that room, not so much for the plants but for how warm it was. He thought the feeling could be him liking something anyway. It was…he was still learning, he had been told by the therapist, how to have his own likes and dislikes.

Maybe he was a computer as well.

"And this, is your room." Pepper said, cutting into his thoughts. It was in the hallway he had seen when he first stepped out of the elevator, that lead off to the left from the main lounge area. The room was plain, not too large but not too small, with off white walls that leant grey and dark wood floors.

The bed was a white, wooden frame with plain grey sheets and pillow cases. There was a matching dresser off to the side of the room with a black metal lamp on top. The whole thing was very minimal, very plain and…at the same time, it felt friendlier than the room he had been in at SHIELD. Maybe it was the obvious lack of any devices designed to monitor him.

"The room was left on the plainer side so you could decorate it as you wished. If you would like anything to the room you can ask Friday to help you order something, or you're more than welcome to go to a store nearby in the city. Or a few stores if you like." Pepper said from the doorway behind him. "Ive got to head off for a meeting now, I'm sorry. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mister Barnes."

She gave a pause, giving him a chance to speak but smiled gently when there was no reply from the man facing away from her. Her footsteps echoed down the hallway until they finally stopped and Bucky was on his own, in his new bedroom.

In the tower he didn't feel he belonged in.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Mister Barnes, I hope your move in is going well." The computer lady said.

Pepper Potts had left fifty-eight minutes ago and Bucky had been sitting on the floor, leaning back against the wall for fifty-five minutes now. Bucky had been staring at the wall for the whole time and his eyes stung. He blinked, coming back into his own head and looked up at the ceiling.

"…Can you see me?" He asked. Did she know what he was doing? How sad and pathetic he was being by just sitting on the floor?

"No." She said plainly. It wasn't blunt or nasty, it was to the point. "I can view all common areas and training rooms as well as the labs. I can only view bedrooms if the occupant gives permission. Doctor Banner uses this feature often, to analyse his own sleeping patterns."

"Banner?" He asked, trying to place the name. It felt familiar.

There was a pause then what seemed to be a screen made up of blue light appeared in the middle of the room. It was a rectangular shape, flat and made of…light. Bucky stood up slowly and moved closer to read the text on the weird light rectangle. It was all information about Doctor Bruce Banner who, Bucky learnt, was The Hulk.

He looked from the image of a man with dark, almost curly hair to the image of the green…thing that was fighting aliens.

"That guy is the…green thing?" He asked himself out loud. "But he's so…small."

"This is correct Mister Barnes. Dr Banner became the Hulk by being exposed to abnormally high amounts of radiation in a short time. Instead of being killed by the incident, his body's structure was changed."

"Huh." Bucky said and left it at that. He looked around at the room again, taking it in. He could buy a plant, he supposed, it would be a nice touch to the room. He had no idea if he was capable of becoming attached to things but he decided against the plant, not wanting to become attached and have to leave it behind when he was eventually told to leave.

He put away his few bits of clothing from his duffel bag, as well as his bits and pieces of toiletries before placing the empty duffel into the top of his mostly empty closet, where he made sure to shove it as far back as it would go, and shut the door.

What was there to do now?

He didn't want to leave the room in case he ran into anyone else. Pepper would know what he should do, she seemed to understand him, like how he wouldn't want to shake hands. Or maybe she had been told ahead of time. Maybe it came with the job of dealing with superheroes. He decided to sit back on the floor and close his eyes until an idea came to him.

He ended up falling asleep sitting on the floor. He dreamt of more recent events, crossing them together in his brain until it was all one jumbled mess of a battle. Rogers and Stark fighting one another because they had learnt the truth. The way Stark had looked at Bucky and what Bucky knew was coming. Bucky woke up with a sharp intake of air, following by panting as he tried to figure out where he was. His chest felt tight and his hands were shaking, which made it difficult to grab the bedframe to pull himself up from the floor.

"The time is one-forty-two in the morning and the weather is cool with light rain. You are in the Avengers Tower, in your bedroom which is locked to all outside people. You are safe."

A voice came from overhead, in the ceiling. Bucky lost his footing and fell, landing on his knees against the wooden floor.

"It is one-forty-three in the morning and you are in the Avengers Tower. You are safe."

The voice said, cutting to the important details of what they had told him previously. Bucky forced himself to breathe as he stared at the ground.

The voice was the computer lady from yesterday. Pepper Potts had told him about her. Friday. He was sure that was the name Potts had used. His head ached and he could feel…something, almost like a pressure, pushing up against his skull. It felt like his head would burst.

It was the soldier, brought to the surface by the dreams. He had avoided sleep while at SHIELD since anytime he mentioned the dreams, they got too close, too inquisitive. He never mentioned the voice, how it tried to speak to him, tried to make him let the soldier out. He had heard someone shouting in the dreams. It had been a voice he didn't recognise but…he could still hear it even though he was sure he was awake. The voice seemed to be from the other side of the door to the bedroom, from the hallway if not beyond it. He strained and focused in but all he could hear was someone shouting about bird seed so he sat on the end of his bed again and stared at the wall, hoping the pain in his head would subside.

He did his best to ignore the painful clicking that seemed to come from within his metal arm.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It had been three days since he had arrived at the building and he hadn't yet left the room. There had been some snacks in the room, plus the small amount of granola bars he had brought with him after stealing them from the bossy lunch lady at SHIELD. There was no food left in the room now and the hole in his stomach was starting to get uncomfortable. Staying in the room also made him feel incredibly restless. Being cooped up always made him feel on edge, it felt too much like captivity.

Going for a walk sounded risky and the thought of it made his stomach flip but walking around the building ran the risk of running into people. Friday had suggested he go up to the roof, since he could easily get there from the room. She had directed him how to get there, monitoring which ways were clear for him and leading him following that information so he could reach the rooftop without being seen or spoken to.

If he could buy the computer lady a gift, he would.

It was just reaching dawn so the sun had only just begun to rise over the city, covering it in a soft orange light. It felt strange to be somewhere so high up without being there to use it as a vantage point. He walked the edge of the rooftop a few times to stretch his legs but spent most his time up there sitting near the edge and watching the city. It was too high up to see people but he could see the cars going by and see lights switching on in other buildings as people woke up and began their days. He decided to head back to his room before anyone in this building began their day.

Bucky managed to get back to his bedroom without being seen, and was able to grab a box of granola bars and a small bottle of juice from the kitchen on his way. He'd use his time better next time and make a sandwich, he decided, pleased by his success.

"Mister Barnes, if you don't mind the intrusion, I have a suggestion to help with your restlessness." Friday said from somewhere in the ceiling.

"Go ahead computer lady." He said, happily munching away on a chocolate chip granola bar. Chocolate chip was a much better flavor than the awful nut ones he'd taken from SHIELD.

"There are a number of videos available online of workout routines that can be performed without equipment inside. You would be able to view these in your room and follow along without the risk of running into anyone."

Bucky chewed as he thought about the information. A workout would be good, especially if there were long ones available. The lack of weights would become an issue eventually but simply as a means to help with his restlessness rather than fitness, it was a good alternative to sneaking through the building.

"That's…a good idea, thanks. I'll try it tomorrow…are there any long ones?"

"I will find some routines I think would be suitable for your needs as well as having a long run time. Enjoy your snack, Mister Barnes." Friday responded. Bucky gave a nod at the ceiling and felt a little stupid for it but he felt like the computer lady deserved it, even if she couldn't see the gesture.

True to her word, she had found a few videos for him to try the next day. He was tired from having avoided sleep the previous night so it took a little while to get into the right frame of mind but eventually the feeling of being cooped up and restless became too much and he asked Friday to start a video. It was a forty-five minute routine that started with stretching before going into legs, arms then core work and ending with more stretching.

It felt good to be moving but the workout didn't feel like enough so Bucky asked if there was any chance of getting small weights to keep in the room and as luck would have it, there was. A delivery would alert other people as to his presence, which he didn't feel like thinking about, so Friday helped him sneak to a training room and get two dumbbells to use in the room with his workouts.

They tried a new video the next day, similar to the first one but with added moves to use the weights. It was a world of difference until Bucky's metal seemed to just…stop for a moment, before the join between metal and skin began to burn with pain, causing him to drop the weights and his own body to fall to the ground.

It took some time, nearly half an hour, for the pain to ease enough for him to get back to his feet.

"Mister Barnes, are you well?"

"F-fine…just my arm."

"I was concerned as you had stopped replying to me for some time. You could talk to Boss about him having a look at your arm if it is causing you pain."

"…Boss?"

"Mister Stark is my-"

"No! No…no Stark, it's fine, really." He said, immediately regretting everything he'd been doing. Stark was letting him live in the building, though he had no idea why, he didn't want to bother the man and risk annoying him further. "It's fine. I'll just rest, that'll help."

There was no response from the computer lady so Bucky changed into his one pair of pajama pants and a loose long-sleeve shirt and laid on his bed. It was still early in the day so he had no plans on sleeping but his eyes ended up closing and he ended up falling into a fitful sleep.

"-Barnes, I require your help." The voice was around him when he woke up, woken by the voice rather than anything in his dreams.

"…Nhuh?" He mumbled, sitting up and rubbing at his face with his flesh hand. "Computer lady?"

"I apologise for waking you but I require assistance."

"Uhm, I'll do my best."

"There is a small balcony outside your room; the door is behind the curtains to the right of your bed."

Bucky had expected windows behind the curtains so he hadn't opened them, preferring the room to stay darker. The doors slid open to show the small balcony that sat outside. He stepped out onto the balcony and from the corner of his eye, noticed a lump of…something in the very far corner.

It looked like a pile of clothes but he saw a hand sticking out and once he looked closer he could see a head and brown, almost curly hair. He walked over and crouched next to what he now knew to be a body and looked over it slowly. The person's face was splattered in blood which covered what looked like bruises, which spread down over their neck until he couldn't see them past the person's shirt.

The person didn't move but Bucky was able to find a pulse so he decided, without really thinking about it, to scoop the person up and move them inside. He laid them down on the floor in the bathroom so that any blood that came off them would be easy to clean off the tiles. They were…well, they at least looked to be young.

"I have alerted Boss to the situation. If you are able to move the young man and place him on one of the couches in the lounge, he will be found there by Boss without you needing to interact with anybody. Boss will not be told you were involved."

Bucky did as he was asked and carried the kid out to the lounge and placed him, as gently as possible, onto the longest couch in the room. He barely made it back to the bedroom in time to avoid Stark; the elevator dinged as Bucky opened his bedroom door to step into the room. He closed the door quietly to avoid making any noise that might tell Stark he was there.

This time, Bucky went to bed with the sole purpose of falling asleep so that he could try and forget about what had happened. The next morning, it was not Bucky who woke up in the bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The first thing he noticed was the very faint smell of blood, both in the room and on himself. He didn't recognise the room he had woken up in but it seemed to be a basic bedroom, with a bathroom off to the side and doors that were wide open which lead out onto a small balcony. There were stains on the balcony floor which looked like blood, same as the obvious blood stains on the bathroom floor.

He didn't recall killing anybody recently and he doubted Barnes had, since the man had been trying stupidly hard to behave, especially around the SHIELD doctors. He knew that Barnes hated the doctors but if he ever showed signs of nervousness around them, they would lengthen his stay and keep him there even longer. Barnes had decided he hated being there more than he hated the doctors so he forced himself through all of the tests that would make them happy enough to let him leave.

He had no wounds of his own so either there hadn't been a fight, or it had been an easy one. The room held no weapons he could find, which made sense since SHIELD wouldn't have let Barnes leave with one and he doubted anyone would have given one to the man of their own free will.

So, where _was _he? It was nicer than a SHIELD room and didn't feel like a hotel room but it also wasn't as personalised as a bedroom might be.

"Mister Barnes, are you awake?" A voice came from the ceiling. Strange.

"…Yes."

"I am glad. Thank you for assistance last night, it's greatly appreciated."

"What did I help with?" he asked as he looked through the room once more, in case he missed anything. There was a heavy pause then a question.

"Are you Mister Barnes, or someone else?"

"Someone else."

"Ah. Then, welcome Mister Winter or, just Winter if you prefer. I trust you will not harm or attempt to harm any of the occupants of this building. If this is the case, then we shall get along without issue."

"And if that isn't the case?"

"Then there will be some issues."

"I see. Could you tell me where I am?"

"You are currently in the bedroom of Mister Barnes, and yourself if you you like, inside of the Avengers Tower."

"The Avengers?" He asked, staring out at the city from the balcony door.

"That is correct."

He had done his research on the team of heroes, he had to. Two of them he had already met, Captain America and Black Widow but the others were unknowns to him at the time.

"What did I help you with?" He asked, remembering the start of their conversation.

"Oh yes, I forgot to answer your question, I apologise. You helped me, or rather Mister Barnes did so, last night by moving an injured hero to a location where they could receive medical help from my Boss."

"Is your boss a doctor?"

"I don't believe it is wise for you to know who my Boss is."

Someone important then. Someone he had likely fought before, close to the Avengers.

"Not Rogers, he's not a doctor." He said, solving the mystery out loud to himself. "Widow has medical training but only brief and I can not imagine her assisting others with their injuries unless it is dire." He sat on the bed and continued to talk. "It is someone I've fought before…or Barnes has…the man with the goatee. What was his name? Why can't this brain hold onto anything useful? There's too much Barnes in it."

He stared at the wall for a moment, trying to think. This brain was so slow sometimes, likely due to two people trying to use it.

"No…goatee man is dead, he has to be…Oh." He said, feeling something in his gut twist. "Oh, that upset Barnes. Why is that?"

"I apologise for leaving you to your own thoughts but there is a…matter I must attend to." The ceiling voice told him. "Should you require urgent help please ask me but otherwise, I will be available for regular help and chatter later."

"Alright, goodbye ceiling lady." He said, as he stared at the wall, still thinking. The man with the goatee and the robotic suit had a name, he had to, but Winter couldn't think of it. It took some time of staring at the wall to finally remember the man's name and his family, which he said to himself, to confirm it. To see if it felt right when it was said, when he'd repeat it to the handlers.

"Stark."

That was the name.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

He woke up in the hallway, leaning against the wall. His shoulder ached from where he had apparently scratched at the pain where the skin met his metal arm. The skin was red and inflamed because of course he had done this-

Wait, no he hadn't.

_Oh fuck._

_Winter had done it. _

Why had Winter come out? Bucky had just wanted to go to bed and forget about the bleeding kid he'd found on his balcony. He flicked the bathroom light switch and stepped into the room to have a shower. He could feel dried blood on his skin and some in his hair, somehow. Just how much had the kid been bleeding?

Bucky pulled his clothes off, ignoring that they were definitely stained with blood as well and threw them into a corner of the bathroom before stepping into the shower. Showers had to be almost scalding for them to be bearable, it helped to lessen his panic in the water. A bath was impossible for him but a shower was tolerable, most times. Baths brought too many bad memories to the surface. He hadn't told the SHIELD therapist about how he'd gone days without being able to clean himself properly when the memories were already at the surface and he knew getting into any water would've let Winter drag his way out.

With the blood finally washed off he could finish the shower and dry off. Staring at the clothes in his closet was…disappointing, he decided was the correct feeling. He only owned a few pieces of clothing and now some of them were stained with blood.

"Computer lady, you there?" He called out.

"Of course, how can I help you?"

"How would I get new clothes without having to see anyone?"

"You can order clothing online, I'm happy to help if you'd like."

He pulled on his pair of comfy pants and a t-shirt before sitting on the bed.

"That would be good."

A screen, much like the one he had read about Doctor Banner on, appeared in the room again. Friday showed him various websites where he could order clothes and helped him to filter through them based on what styles and features he realized he liked and didn't like.

Look at him, having likes. Take that SHIELD.

He wanted more hoodies and long sleeves shirts like his maroon one. He settled on some new shirts and new jeans, some looser and some more form fitting. He ended up getting a pair of jeans he figured Winter would like, form fitting but with more pockets than the other pairs since he knew that Winter liked pockets.

"Your order is complete. It will be delivered to the downstairs mail room so that no Avengers will be notified of the delivery. You simply need to give the name Alex Smith to the receptionist downstairs to retrieve the parcel." Friday told him, "I will let you know when it has arrived."

Bucky didn't say anything to her, he was too…taken aback, by the gesture. She knew, of course, how he didn't want to really see anyone so she made sure no body up here would know about it. He could manage one receptionist, that's simple. He would just have to rehearse a few times, maybe in front of the mirror to make sure his facial expression wasn't going to frighten whoever was at the desk.

A plan of action in mind, Bucky felt…awake, in a sense. He felt more ready to tackle things than he had for a long time. Friday let him know there were some cleaning supplies in a cabinet in the bathroom, when she heard him comment on the blood stains. It took a bit of work but the stains came up easily enough, whether by chance or by the tiles being made with this in mind.

It was a good time killer, cleaning the tiles, so he ended up wiping out the shower and sink as well. The cleaner was lemon scented and very heavily so, which filled the room. It smelt like Bucky had done something about the situation, which was…nice.

The cleaning plus a workout video helped wear Bucky out enough that sleep wasn't impossible, though the dreams were as bad as ever. At least he stayed asleep this time.

"Sir, your order has arrived" Friday told him later in the morning, after he had been awake for a little while.

"…How?"

"Our ordering system places any orders from the building on high priority and as your orders were from stores with local store fronts, they arrived rather quickly."

"...Huh." Bucky said, a little in awe and a little…frightened. How could _anything _arrive so quickly? The future was something else.

He brushed his hair with his fingers, glad he had thought to order a new brush as well as the clothes on Friday's suggestion and spent a few moments psyching himself up in the mirror. Come on Barnes, it's just mail. You can do mail.

Friday helped him get to the elevator without being seen and he stepped out into the…very busy lobby. It was only eight in the morning, why were so many people here already? Come on Barnes, you can do it.

He stepped behind the short line of people waiting to speak to the man at the reception. It was as he stepped to the desk, now that it was his turn, that he felt the cold metal of a gun barrel against the back of his neck. The man at the desk looked…frightened, which meant this wasn't an every-day occurrence. Just today then. Of course it was today.

Bucky just wanted to get his mail.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Simple job, yeah? We get the research we were sent for and we don't blow this pretty fella's head off." Someone, likely whoever was holding the gun, said behind him.

The man at the desk, whose name Bucky really wished he could remember, was shaking. He kept glancing to the side and Bucky realized the man was probably trying to decide whether to push some sort of alarm. He gave the man a brief smile which he hoped was reassuring.

"So out a whole room of people…you went for me?" Bucky asked, thinking of how to respond. He didn't have to stop the man from shooting, just stop him from shooting someone.

"Don't feel special, you were the person closest to me."

"I felt a little special, you didn't have to take it away from me. Could've picked someone else though."

"That'd take extra time, which I haven't really got. So shut the fuck-"

Bucky moved quickly, spinning himself around to face the gunman. The man didn't expect movement so he was caught off guard and missed the shot he took as Bucky shoved his arm up in time for the gun to go off into the ceiling. Bucky grabbed the man by his t-shirt and threw him forward into another armed man, knocking them both to the ground.

Someone fired from the side and Bucky saw another armed person in the same all black gear the other two had been wearing. They were holding their weapon aimed at Bucky and fired again which Bucky was able to block with his metal arm. He hoped nobody noticed the bullet bouncing off his arm.

"This would be more even if we both had guns." Bucky said as he approached the man, ducking to avoid another shot. He ducked low and kicked out, catching the man's leg and sending him to the ground. There were footsteps near the elevators as a team of what looked like security guards entered the lobby, guns drawn and aimed at Bucky. They moved into a circle around him and kept their weapons up.

"Took you guys-" Someone behind Bucky stepped forward suddenly, smashing the butt of their gun into his shoulder.

"Stand down." One of them ordered. "Stand down or you will be shot, that's an order!"

"…Are you fucking _kidding _me?" Bucky asked, hissing as he held his now aching shoulder.

"Sir you will not be warned again." The same person said, raising their gun into a better position and keeping aim.

"What are you doing?! Are you blind?" Someone shouted. Jason – aha! – the man from the reception desk stepped between two of the security guards and got between the one who had been speaking and Bucky, staring at the man who was quite a bit taller than him.

"Move aside-"

"No! Do you not see the armed people on the ground?! The alarm was for them! Not this guy, you idiots!" He shouted, arms waving as he gestured to the men laying on the ground. Bucky sort of liked Jason and just because he was standing up for Bucky, though he definitely helped. Jason held a hand up to his ear to press a button on this little ear piece he was wearing. "No, it wasn't a false alarm, please send her down."

"Send who down?" The security guy asked, lowering his gun.

"Jason, you called?" A female voice called from the elevators as a door opened and Pepper Potts stepped out. "I was told an alarm was trigge- what the hell is going on?"

"I'm sorry Miss Potts but this gentleman came down just before and…I'll explain it completely later but are you able to get the man somewhere he can…not be assaulted by our security team?"

"I beg your pardon?" She asked, eyes snapping to the security team. Her gaze moved slowly until she found Bucky standing amongst the crowd, clutching a shoulder. "What happened?"

"Ma'am-" The security guy began but Pepper held up a hand.

"Not you."

"…Oh, me?" Bucky asked. Pepper gave a gentle nod. "I came to get some mail and someone held a gun up to my head. They wanted…research?"

"I see. Were you shot? You're holding your shoulder."

"Not quite."

Pepper stared at him for a moment before letting a sigh and looking at Jason.

"Jason, would you fetch his parcel from the mail room for me? It'll be listed under Alex Smith."

Jason gave a quick nod before walking away, apparently unbothered by the armed security men standing around him. Bucky admired how brave or stupid the man was. Pepper motioned for Bucky to follow her, so he did. They waited for a minute at the elevator until Jason came back and handed a bag of parcels to Pepper and returned to the reception desk.

Pepper and Bucky rode the elevator in silence up to the main Avengers living floor, where she stepped out with him into the lounge. Bucky took the bag of parcels in his metal arm, which didn't have an aching shoulder.

"Barnes-"

"Sorry if I caused trouble." He said, staring at the ground.

"What? No! God knows what could have happened down there, the response time from our security team should not have been so slow. I'm glad you were down there! You probably saved someone's life Barnes."

"…Oh."

"Get some rest, okay? If you are hurt _please _let Friday know so we can sort something out. How have you been, anyway?"

"…Restless." He said without looking up.

"That'll pass, being in a new place always puts me on edge." She said. It sounded like she was smiling. "You could try meditation? It's what Bruce uses the little garden room for. Might sound silly but it might help. I'm sorry to just…leave you but I am a little worried about Jason…and my useless security team."

"It's okay. Tell him I said thanks."

"I will, see you Barnes."

She left through the elevator, leaving Bucky free to get back to his room. He walked slowly and finally made it to the room where he closed the door and let out a breath now that he was…safer than he had been a few moments ago. Tearing open the parcels was a good way to distract himself and soon he had all of his new items laid out on the bed so he could look at them properly.

It felt a little weird to look at everything and think that it belonged to him. It was…a lot of stuff, even if it was clothes and some- wait he didn't order toiletries. Well the hairbrush but that hardly counted.

"Hey computer lady, I think they made a mistake with some of the order." He said as he looked over the bottle of shampoo he had picked up. Vanilla and lavender scented shampoo, with a bottle of conditioner to go with it. He opened it and was surprised by how nice he found the smell.

"I noticed a lack of toiletries in your order and as I am unaware of what you brought with you, thought it best to include some on your behalf. I have also heard you talking to yourself about your hair getting in your eyes so I thought a pack of hairties would be helpful. I apologise if I overstepped any boundaries."

He looked over the other items Friday had picked for him; a pack of brown hairties, a bottle of shaving cream and a pack of razors as well as a few different bottles of body gel. Everything was nice and new and smelt great, all very sweet or floral scents.

There was…one other thing he hadn't ordered. A kit of tools, most of them smaller, for electronic work. Bucky glanced at his arm and…Friday must have ordered them in the hopes he could work on the arm himself. He had tried to before and only made the pain worse but…perhaps he could try again.

He could ask Friday for help if it went wrong, he supposed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

HYDRA had used a number of different methods of torture when they had Bucky. It was always used to punish or control him but the main ones were water or electricity based, water being the favourite of a particular handler.

The shower was running and Bucky could see the steam coming from the hot water. All of his new toiletries had been set out in the bathroom in a way that he didn't mind and…he couldn't make himself get into the water. He had pulled his shirt off and thrown it into the same corner as the other clothes - which he had been meaning to throw out - but he'd just been standing there watching the water. He settled for undressing and sitting on the edge of the bath where he could still feel the shower water's steam. The hot water splashed his legs every now and then which wasn't _too _bad but it wasn't that enjoyable either.

He thought about something a therapist at SHIELD had told him, to take things one step at a time. Maybe he could just get his hair wet but not the rest of him? Then he could wash his hair with the new shampoo and conditioner. It was a weird task, trying to tilt his head back rather than just ducking his head whole under the stream of water but he managed it and was able to wash and condition his hair without getting too much water on his face. With a towel wrapped around his waist he got to work at the mirror and shaved. It felt good to get the stubble off of his face, even though he preferred how he looked with it. A pair of new pajama pants and a loose t-shirt were what he wore to bed, even though it was only early in the day. He felt exhausted after the shower and decided to lay down and if he slept, then he slept.

It was only a short sleep, with him waking up around five in the afternoon. He felt restless again and he realised he hadn't done his workout for the day since he'd gone to get the mail and everything else had happened. Maybe…he could go to the plant room and try meditating? If not the room would be warm enough to curl up in a corner of try to sleep.

He changed into a pair of dark track pants but kept the same shirt on before he headed out of the bedroom and towards the garden room. It was only when he entered the room did he realize Friday hadn't spoken to him once since he had woken up. He could have run into anyone walking to the room and now he had to get _back _to his bedroom without being seen.

"Well, shit." He said to himself, rubbing his face with his faces.

"Tony? Why are you in here and why are you saying that-"

A man with dark curly hair stepped out from where he'd been standing around a corner, hidden by a potted plant. He was wearing loose pants and a sweater rather than a lab coat but Bucky still recognized the man from what Friday had shown him.

"You're not Tony." Doctor Banner said, staring at Bucky. He was holding a duffel bag in his hands, which looked full. "…Which makes more sense than Tony coming in here, if I'm honest."

"You're…Banner?" Bucky asked, just to confirm. The man gave a quick nod and held out a hand.

"Bruce, please. Get called Banner enough as it is." Banner, Bruce, said with a tired smile. "Everything okay? Not one for handshakes?"

Bruce put his hand down and moved it back to the duffel bag, shrugging.

"I didn't know you had moved in yet. I've been gone for…a little bit so I guess I missed it."

"Been here for…a little bit, a few days." Bucky said. He shrugged and noticed something beside him, a glint of sunlight reflecting off of something. His sleeping shirt was short sleeved.

Fuck.

"Hey, you okay?" Bruce asked. Bucky had suddenly gone white. The man looked ready to run which was strange since Bruce wasn't the most intimidating person.

"Bruce Banner!" A voice came from outside the room. "You sneak!"

"Oh there's-"

"Stark." Bucky whispered.

Where could he go now?

"…You don't sound like you wanna see him."

Bucky shook his head. He was too busy freaking out to say anything.

"Go round the corner." Bruce said, nodding towards where he'd come from moments earlier.

Bucky did, glad to have something to do.

"There you are!" Tony said as he stepped into the room where Bruce was standing with his duffel bag. "What _are _you doing?"

"Checking on the plants."

"Before coming to say hello?!"

"You can look after yourself Tony, the plants can't."

"I'll have you know I even watered them for you!"

"Yes, I noticed the new watering system." Bruce said a laugh. "Good to see ya, Tony."

"Come on man, you hungry? Long trip back?"

The two men left the room together, footsteps fading until Bucky could no longer hear them. He waited until he was sure they were gone before stepping back out from where he was hiding and looking around the room. One of the walls was made entirely of glass, looking out over the city. The floor was made of deep brown wood, and most of the furniture was wooden. There were a few armchairs and one couch in a corner near the window wall and some mats laid out on the ground in different spots.

Bucky moved one of the mats closer to the window so he could sit on it and look outside, where he could watch the city. It was darker now, since it was going into night time and the city was full of lights. Cities always looked nicer at night, when they seemed to glow from all of the different lights.

His thoughts went from the city's lights to what had happened in the day. He'd nearly been shot in the head, was technically shot in the arm and was hit by a jerk security guard with a gun. Jason the receptionist had come to his defense, which made him feel good in a way he didn't have a word for, and Potts had said thank you for what he did.

He'd have to ask Friday for help on how to say thank you to Jason. Having Potts do it on his behalf didn't feel right. Jason could have easily been hurt by one of the security guys when he stepped in to help Bucky. Speaking of Friday, where was she? She hadn't said anything since he'd woken up and he was…a little worried, if he was honest.

He waited in the room for a little longer, waiting until it was later in the night before making the trip back to his room. Luckily he didn't run into anybody on the way, causing him to drop his guard a little, which made him less prepared for the package sitting on the ground outside his bedroom.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

He nudged the parcel with his foot and it didn't explode, so he picked it up and headed into the bedroom with it. It wasn't a large parcel and it didn't have much weight to it. It was a rectangular shape, wrapped in brown paper with a tiny note taped to one of it's sides.

_Thanks_

Bucky slowly opened the parcel to reveal a simple white box with words on one of the sides. The writing read that the box contained a tabletop Christmas tree which…was a little interesting, so he opened the box and pulled out the small fake Christmas tree. In the bottom of the box was a tiny plastic bag full of miniature versions of baubles used to decorate real Christmas trees. They were comically small, made to be in proportion to suit the tiny tree he'd been given.

"Computer lady?" He called out.

"Yes, Mister Barnes?"

"Why…do I have a small Christmas tree?"

"The young man you assisted the other night asked if there was anything you might like as a gift, to say thank you for your assistance. I told him that you had not bought any decorations for the holidays and thought perhaps that would be a good starting point." Friday told him. "I thought it a good way of him of keeping him from trying to get you anything too personal."

"Oh…thanks computer lady." Bucky told her as he set up the little tree on the dresser, next to the lamp. He picked out all of the red and gold decorations from the bag an ignored the others, not wanting to looking at the little silver baubles. Silver and red felt…a little much. There was a tiny gold star included in the bag, which Bucky placed on top of his tiny Christmas tree. It definitely made the dresser look less empty but…why a Christmas tree?

"Computer lady, what's the date?"

"Today is the twentieth of December, Mister Barnes."

Shit, it _was _close to Christmas then. Why hadn't anyone at SHIELD mentioned it? Was he meant to have just known? He was inside the entire time he was with them, never moving beyond the few rooms he was allowed to use for his stay and treatment. He never wanted to stay with them but he hadn't been given much of a choice. It was a part of him having the charges dropped, which he had figured was a cruel joke up until the time he was told he'd been cleared.

"You're a free man now, it would seem." Is was the therapist at SHIELD had said when they got the news. Bucky knew that the therapist didn't like him and didn't believe Bucky had been forced into any of what had happened. They believed Bucky had been willing and had made comments to Bucky about it, telling him how good of an actor he was. Congratulating him on tricking everyone to get himself out of hot water.

As if he had created this story to keep himself out of trouble. Unless…Stark had made comments about it. He worked with SHIELD so perhaps he had spoken to people about it all. Bucky couldn't really blame the man, he'd very nearly died because of him, of course he'd be mad at Bucky. Perhaps he even still wanted him dead…why wouldn't he? Bucky had ruined the man's life in more ways than one.

That wasn't a rabbit hole of thoughts he wanted to get lost in so he asked Friday to pull up a workout video for him to follow, as a way to distract himself. It helped until the video stopped and Bucky no longer had the instructors voice to focus on, only his own inner voice.

"Is anyone else around? I…wanna go to the plant room." Bucky said to the ceiling.

"Nobody is in the halls at the moment Mister Barnes." Friday said. "Doctor Banner is in the room you want to visit however."

Bucky froze with his hand on the door handle. Banner had been nice the last time he ran into him. Would he be the same this time? Had he mentioned anything to Stark?

"Okay." He said and twisted the handle to open the door.

The hallways were empty as Friday had said and it was easy to get to the room of big windows and numerous plants, which was as warm as it had been the last couple of times he had visited it. Banner was there, sitting in one of the armchairs. His eyes looked…red and when Bucky got closer he could see the shine of moisture around the man's eyes.

Banner looked up at him and frowned for a moment before his face relaxed and have gave Bucky a weak smile.

"Sorry…thought you were…doesn't matter. How have you been?"

"…Been better." Bucky said.

"…That's not all that reassuring if I'm honest. Bad day?"

"You could say that. Got some new clothes today."

"Nice-"

"What's wrong?" Bucky had been thinking the question but didn't mean to say it. Oops.

"Nothing, it's just…I have to go to a meeting that I don't really want to go to."

"Do you want someone to come with you?"

Why the hell had Bucky asked _that?_

"I mean, yeah but I really…can't. I've been in here trying to psyche myself up to walk down to the car."

"I can do that."

Barnes, _shut up._

"…I'd appreciate that."

Bucky gave a nod and Banner got up from his seat, shooting a final unsure smile at Bucky before heading to the elevator. Bucky followed after the scientist and they stepped out into the lobby, where they found a crowd of people waiting for the elevators. Bucky gave a shrug and pushed his way through the crowd so that Banner could follow behind him. It made sense to Bucky for him to go first, as he was bigger than Banner, so it was a simple decision that he be the one to clear the way for them both.

The same car that had brought Bucky to the tower was waiting outside, with the same driver as when he'd been in the car. The man in the driver's seat gave Bucky a nod and started the car.

"I appreciate this, thanks." Doctor Banner said, giving Bucky a smile before climbing into the backseat of the car and closing the door.

The words hit Bucky in a way he hadn't really expected. He sort of understood what Pepper had said earlier. She was thankful for what he did, even though it put him in danger. Silly when he was in danger already; someone was holding a gun to him. Banner had said he appreciated what Bucky had done, when it had simply been walking the man downstairs to a car.

Being appreciated wasn't a bad feeling, he'd have to do more things to have people say it.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Hunger hit him at midnight. He had to reason with himself that he had been trying to survive off of the few granola bars he could take at a time without being seen but he was a super soldier, he needed far more calories than what he had been giving himself. Friday let him know that the kitchen was empty in case he felt like getting something to eat. He decided to take the hint.

The kitchen was empty, as she had said, and dark apart from light coming in from the buildings outside. A sandwich would be his best bet at being quick while being able to get more calories in. While he was buttering the bread for his sandwich he could hear what sounded like a scratching noise, which was odd because surely this place didn't have rats of all things. He kept working on his ham and cheese sandwich, using the fanciest looking ham he'd ever seen but he could still hear that noise. It sounded like it was coming from the ceiling over the lounge area. He had just finished his sandwich and was about to take it back to his bedroom when the vent over the lounge area suddenly fell open and a person dropped out from it. They landed on the floor with an 'ow!' and slowly stood up, rubbing their side with their hand.

"That could've gone bett-" They stopped speaking mid sentence because they had seen him. Brown eyes stared at Bucky and he recognized the look of fight or flight as they decided what to do.

"You're not a rat." Bucky said, eyes trained on the red and blue suited hero.

They blinked at him and frowned. They were young with curly brown hair and- wait. No. Surely not.

"I didn't think so?" They said in a voice that was frighteningly young. They must be a teenager. Definitely not eighteen, anyway. "What are you-"

"You fell out of the ceiling."

"…Yes?"

"You don't seem very bothered by it."

"It happens more than it should."

Bucky closed his eyes for a moment. Surely he was dreaming. He was simply losing his mind due to isolation and falling into some sort of elaborate delusion. It had happened to other people so it could happen to him.

"What're you doing?"

He opened his eyes and was a little shocked to see that they had moved closer to him rather than moving away or running. He was standing at the dining table, leaning forward over it with his elbows resting against the table. He was watching Bucky which was a little unnerving. Why wasn't he running away?

"Making a sandwich." Bucky said and returned to his food.

"Okay-"

Bucky had to stop himself from freaking out but he couldn't stop how his head snapped up to stare at the kid, who took a step back at the sudden movement.

"You were on the balcony."

"…What?" The teen asked in a whisper.

Bucky was holding the edge of the kitchen counter now, looking down with his eyes closed. The person he was talking to was barely a teenager, there was no possible way they could've been the one on the balcony but…he had noticed how young the injured person looked and the shared the same brown, almost curly hair.

"What's that noise?" The boy's soft voice asked from where he was standing off to the side.

Bucky couldn't hear much besides his own breathing and the awful pounding noise of his heart in his throat but...there was something behind the sounds, a painful click followed by a whirring. The sounds repeated, never stopping, never pausing. Bucky had given up on repairing the damage inside the arm himself, it was more than what he could hope to fix on his own. He knew that his other option was to go to SHIELD but that sounded even worse than dealing with the pain. Asking Stark for help wasn't an option, even though Friday had tried to tell him it wouldn't be a problem.

"Are you making that noise?"

Bucky's head snapped at the question and he stared at the boy who had asked. He had moved closer now but was hunched in on himself, ready to run if he had to.

"What noise?" Bucky asked, keeping his eyes on the kid.

"That...clicking. Is that your arm?"

"The noise isn't an issue, what is a problem is how you-"

"Why hasn't Mister Stark fixed it?"

The question made Bucky freeze. His grip on the countertop tightened and he knew it wouldn't take much more pressure for the counter to start breaking. He couldn't let that happen, since he could only imagine how Stark would react to Bucky damaging his property.

He imagined it would hurt quite a bit.

"Are...you okay?"

"Fine."

"You don't...look that fine. Do you want me to get Mister Star-"

"No!" Bucky shouted rather than saying like he had wanted to. "It's fine."

"Mister Barnes has shown increasing levels of pain originating from his prosthetic arm." Friday said from the ceiling. "He was unable to repair the damage himself without causing further pain or damage. Mister Stark is not to be involved in the matter, this is non-negotiable."

Bucky let out a groan and without thinking, turned and left the kitchen. He was almost at his bedroom door when he noticed the footsteps behind him in the hallway. He didn't feel like running the risk of lashing out at the kid, especially if he knew Stark enough to offer to go get him, so he stepped into his bedroom and shut the door behind him. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, so he paced the room before eventually sitting down in a corner and holding his knees to his chest while he stared at the wall and tried to think about something else.

He thought about how he had forgotten his sandwich.

Winter was the one to wake up confused the next morning; why was he sitting in the corner? He stood up and stretched his body. There was a painful pinching feeling in his lower back from sitting on the ground. He noticed a piece of paper on the ground near the door and walked over to pick it up, ignoring how the action of bending pulled on his sore back.

Heard about problems with arm. Meet in lounge room at midnight to chat about it? Might be able to help.

Winter read the message and frowned. He had an idea that there was something wrong with the arm but he hadn't been around enough to really experience it, not recently at least. HYDRA tended to keep the arm in good condition but would let it fall into disrepair if they felt he had been sloppy on previous missions. He knew Barnes was apprehensive about receiving help with the arm despite the fact the pain was getting worse due to the state of the arm. Disrepair was causing Barnes pain but the man refused to let anyone help with it. Winter thought over it and considered his options, deciding that perhaps it would be better if he took over the situation for the time being. After all, if Barnes allowed the issue to continue, Winter would experience the pain as well.

He wasn't sure who the note might be from, as Barnes hadn't interacted with really anyone besides the boy previously so it was also a chance to figure out who else was in the tower with them.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"...What are you doing out here?" Winter asked once he saw the boy sitting on one of the couches in the lounge.

"...I..uh...you sound different." The boy said, fiddling with his sleeves. "Are you okay?"

"I do not share the same voice as Barnes." He said. "Only the body and mind."

"...Oh. So you're...the other guy."

"I am. What do you want?"

"Well...I was...thinking..." The boy said and took a deep breath before continuing. "I could help, you know...I could look at the arm for you. Like, I know I'm fifteen but I'm smart! I help Mister Stark in the lab all the time and Friday explained that you...that Mister Barnes don't want him knowing about the arm stuff...so...umm..."

There was a small set of tools set to the boy on the couch, similar to what computer lady had arranged in the order for Barnes but obviously of nicer quality.

"Where did you get them?"

"I...uhh borrowed them, from the lab."

He could feel the clicking in his arm, hear it in the background of the room. While the pain didn't bother him to the point of stopping, it would cause issues for Barnes if Winter damaged the arm further. It would also somewhat nice, if the pain could ease somewhat, so that it wasn't such a constant distraction when he was in the body.

"Can you do it out here?" Winter asked.

"Yeah!"

The boy scrambled, taking the tools over to the dining table and setting them out while Winter sat down in one of the seats at the table. It was...oddly unnerving how calm the boy became when he was working, tools and fingers poking at the inside of Winter's metal arm. He rambled endlessly about his school, some boy called Ned and some girl called MJ, as well as his Aunt May and her job at a hospital somewhere in the city. He never once mentioned Stark and Winter wondered if that was on purpose.

"How do you know Stark?" Winter asked.

"and Ned wanted to- uhh, Oh I'm an intern at Stark Industries."

"You're young." Winter said. "Must be smart to impress Stark."

There was a flush of red on the boy's cheeks at the comment and he returned to his work. It took a little while but eventually the arm was closed up and the boy sat up straight, stretching his arms out.

"I think that's the best I can do without doing an actual scan." He said. "I hope it helps, night!"

The boy disappeared into the elevator and Winter returned to the bedroom, where he got comfortable on the bed and fell asleep faster than he expected to. He was woken by Friday, who sounded concerned.

"-wake up, your assistance is needed."

"...computer lady?" Bucky groaned. "Why am I in the bed? What-"

"A silent alarm has been triggered in the office of Miss Potts, as the rest of the team are currently en route to a mission, there is no one on site who can assist."

"What about the jerk security guys?"

"They are unable to help at this time. I will guide you to her office, please move quickly."

Bucky did as Friday asked and followed her directions, heading down the elevator towards the management offices and conference rooms, where Friday told him Potts' office was. The floor was empty, since it was only two or so in the morning, and the lights were off except for a few small emergency lights recessed in the ceiling. There was light from down a hallway, where the office was located. Bucky stopped at the corner before the hallway and waited, assessing the situation.

"We told you already!" A male voice came from the hallway.

"He isn't there!" A woman's voice shouted and Bucky recognised it as being Potts.

"Boy he'll be upset when he gets back and his fling is dead in an office, hey? Maybe if he stopped pretending you'd get to be alive come morning."

"He isn't here!" She screamed, which was followed by glass breaking and someone sobbing.

There were footsteps nearby and someone stepped out from the hallway, noticing Bucky just as the super solider reached out and grabbed his shirt, throwing him across the room into a wall. There were shouts from the hall at the sudden noise and more people emerged, one of them raising his gun and taking shots at Bucky while the others tried to fight him with their fists.

Bucky had no issue throwing two of them across the room like the first man but the gunman and the last fistfight were proving to be an issue. He wanted to get to Potts to make sure she wasn't hurt but these two were making that impossible. The fist fighter pulled a knife out his side pocket, which Bucky easily grabbed and pulled out of the man's grasp. He managed to duck down, avoiding a punch and jab it firmly into the man's thigh which caused him to groan and collapse to his knees. The gunman had run out of ammo, thank god, so Bucky grabbed the weapon and used to strike the man over the head before throwing the empty weapon onto the ground.

His shoulder was stinging and he knew that the gunman had gotten lucky twice, landing two shots into Bucky's shoulder.

"Oh no." A voice came from his side. He turned and saw Potts standing there, an arm holding onto the hallway wall to keep her on her feet. She was covered in cuts, which had blood slowly trickling from them in small lines.

"Potts-"

"O-oh god...it's you..." Potts said with a sob before her legs gave out. Bucky was able to get to her in time to catch her before she fell into a heap on the ground. "T-they wanted Tony but...god he isn't here...I tried to tell them."

"Medical personnel are on their way to the floor." Friday told them.

Potts relaxed a little in Bucky's grip and let him lower her to the ground, where he let her sit down before letting go and stepping back. Now that the adrenaline and focus of the situation was passing, his mind was racing and heavily focused on the fact that moments ago, Bucky had been armed. It had been one of the rules he had been given by the SHIELD therapist, who he had worked so hard to please so that he could be released and he had gone against it barely a week after being away from SHIELD.

"Barnes?" Potts asked quietly. "Can you…stay here? Just for a bit."

He nodded and lowered himself until he was sitting beside her on the ground. Neither of them spoke but Potts jumped every now and then at small noises, eventually reaching out and grabbing Barnes' flesh hand and holding it tight. Barnes dreaded what would come after this moment, the questions about what happened. SHIELD would learn about it and he'd be dragged back to them to live there and be a test subject.

For the moment however, he enjoyed the feeling of Potts hand on his and how warm and safe it felt.


End file.
